This study explores Open Data actors in Kenya, focusing on the issue of transparency and accountability. Drawing on an exploratory quantitative analysis of existing statistical material of usage of the Kenya Open Data Initiative website and 15 qualitative interviews conducted primarily in Nairobi, the study analyses key factors – both enabling and disabling – that shape transparency initiatives connected to Open Data in Kenya.
The material is analysed from three perspectives:
a) a review based on existing research around impact and effectiveness of transparency and accountability initiatives;
b) based on theories on human behaviour in connection to transparency and accountability; and
c) introducing a critical perspective on power relations based on Michel Foucault’s concept of ‘governmentality’.
The study shows that the Kenya Open Data Initiative has potential to become an effective transparency and accountability initiative in Kenya, but that its future is heavily dependent on current trends within the political context and fluctuations in power relations. Applying a stronger user-perspective and participatory approach is critical.
Open Data is a relatively new area within the governance and development field, and academia can play an important role in enhancing methodology and impact assessments to create more effective and sustainable initiatives and ensure that future Open Data initiatives can be both accessible and constitute a base for accountability.

‘Africa Rising’ is an ideology which is gaining increasing traction and momentum amongst economists, analysts and those who would wish to present a positive perspective on the continent’s future.
Advertising, more than any other mass media platform stratifies its audience along patterns of consumption and as such manipulates, underlines and marks social difference in ways which are now so embedded as to be commonplace. Using a familiar repertoire of images, Africa Rising is ‘advertising’ the message of positivity and optimism in the same way a soap manufacturer might sell a new handwash. The language and techniques of mass-market billboard advertising – what Stuart Hall would identify as a signifying practice – have technical and semiotic echoes in the branding applied to this ‘renaissance’ theme. The effect of this ideological makeover is to forge a conducive environment to gain buy-in from a sector of Kenyan society that can afford the luxury of the aspiration Africa Rising promises. The messages and values communicated by Africa Rising demonstrate ‘a new ideological use for pictures’ (Sontag 2003: 29), however they are not targeted to those at the base of the pyramid who remain socially and economically trapped by poverty and basic subsistence.
The visual rhetoric employed by Africa Rising mines a semiotic vocabulary replete with norms and codes which have meaning inside and beyond the continent and which rely on traditional and received visual conventions. If the African renaissance is to translate into a meaningful ideology of transformation rather than ‘a new brick in the wall of cliches’ (Pieterse 2002: 60) it has to speak to all sectors of society and recognize that external indicators of progress do not necessarily serve those who least have the means to serve themselves.

Ambient Intelligence (AmI) refers to a vision of the information society where everyday human environments will be permeated by intelligent technology: people will be surrounded and accompanied by intelligent interfaces supported by computing and wireless networking technology that is ubiquitous, embedded in virtually all kinds of everyday objects. These computationally augmented, smart environments - composed of a myriad of invisible, distributed, networked, connected, interactive, and always-on computing devices - are aware of human context; sensitive to people's needs; adaptive to, and anticipatory of, their behavior; personalized to their requirements; and responsive to their emotion and presence, thereby intelligently supporting their daily and social lives by providing limitless services in a seamless and unobtrusive way. The vision of AmI assumes a paradigmatic shift in both computing and society – far-reaching societal implications. The challenge lies in developing AmI forms that acclimatise to societal change and the diversity of European socio-cultural life. Indeed, one of the most fundamental views in the prevailing AmI vision is a radical and technology-driven change to social environments and people’s lives. Research emphasizes the fundamental role the ISTAG, a group of scholars and ICT industry experts, plays in the reproduction of AmI as a positive force for societal change. Therefore, the objective of this study is to carry out a critical reading of the scholarly and ICT industry’s construction of AmI in relation to societal transformation. To achieve this objective, a discourse analytical approach was employed to examine the selected empirical material: three reports published by the ISTAG in 2001, 2003 and 2006. The approach consists of seven stages: (1) surface elements and organizational structure, (2) discursive constructions, (3) social actors, (4) language and rhetoric, (5) framing as power and operation, (6) positioning and legitimation, and (7) ideological viewpoints.
The AmI discourse (vision) construction tends to be deterministic, i.e. it assumes that the ‘amization’ of society will lead to radical social transformations, and has an unsophisticated account of how social change occurs. It is also inclined to be rhetorical - it promises revolutionary social changes without really having a holistic strategy for achieving the goal. Moreover, topicalization is accomplished in correspondence with the preferred mental models and social representations. Furthermore, the discourse is exclusionary: many issues (pertaining to trust, social sustainability, human-centred design, healthcare, and community life) are left out with the intention to advance the idea of the eventual societal acceptance of AmI. It additionally plays a role in wider processes of legitimation of social agents and structures on the basis of normative and political reasons, and it offers different subject positions: between ISTAG and Europe and European citizens, and between citizens and ICT designers and producers. Likewise, it plays a major role in constructing the image of social actors – ISTAG, ICT industry, research community and EU – as well as in defining their relations and identities in ways that reallocate roles and reflect new attributes. A great highlight and space is awarded to represent these actors, and their views dominate the reports. They are the prime definer of the represented reality. As to ideological reproduction, the discourse perpetuates power relations, serves the interest of certain stakeholders in European society, and reconstructs ideological claims.
This discursive endeavor provides a valuable reference for social researchers or scientists in related research communities. Until now, there has been, to the best of one’s knowledge, no comprehensive discursive research of AmI in relation to societal transformation, more specifically the potential of AmI in modernizing the European social model and in shaping Europe’s future.

Recent years were marked by a major transformation in human and social communication, owing to the advances in ICT and thus social media technologies. Social media have introduced new communication practices, provided newfound interaction patterns, created new forms of expressions, stimulated a wide civic participation, and so forth. They are rapidly evolving and their significance is increasing while their role is changing in social and political processes. Moreover, they are increasingly becoming an instrumental approach to, and power for, social change due to their potential in bringing new dynamics to its underlying processes such as public mobilization. Indeed, more recently, they played an important role in what has come to be known as the Arab Spring. Particularly, in the recent Egyptian revolt, social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, have been transformed into effective means to fuel revolt and bring about political transformation. This marked a victory for social media and corroborates that they are an enduring resource for the successful mobilization of bottom-up, grassroots movements and leaderless collective actions. This, in turn, has stimulated discussions about their impact on political change, giving rise to a new discourse, what might be identified as ‘social media for social change’. This discourse is gaining an increased attention in the media and the academia: many journalists and authors talk and write about it. Particularly, research and publications by journalists emphasize the fundamental role the online media play in the reproduction of the role of social media in the Egyptian revolution and political change.
The aim of this study is to establish, by means of a discourse analysis, how and with what purpose in mind, the online media report on – represent – the relationship between social media and the Egyptian uprising and political transformation, a social relationship that seems to be overstated and constructed in various ways by different journalists. This critical reading reveals what is undervalued, overvalued and excluded, as well as the intersection between the media discourse, subjects and ideology. To achieve this aim, the discourse analysis approach was used to examine the set of selected media texts.
The media representation is deterministic as to the role of social media in the Egyptian revolution and political transformation, i.e. it exaggeratedly depicts the power of social media by describing the Egyptian revolution as a Facebook revolution. It also tends to be rhetorical and exclusionary. The event of the revolution and the reality of political change in Egypt are far more complicated than how it is reconstructed by most journalists. Further, it plays a role in constructing a positive image of different corporate players, namely Facebook, Twitter and media companies, as well as in constituting their identities. A great highlight is given to represent these actors. In addition, the media representation does ideological work. It sustains and serves corporate power as well as advances ideological claims.
This discursive research enhances the current understanding of the phenomenon of social media in relation to revolution and political change, although the findings may not be generalizable.

Art has the ability to give voice to the vast number of ordinary citizens suffering under
totalitarian rule in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, both past and present. This
paper uses a mixed-analysis approach to examine three selected examples of visual
representations concerning the North Korean Refugee Movement in order to illustrate how
Art functions as a strategic component of C4D, and how it can be effectively used by social
movements as a way of framing movements’ identities in collective action, promoting
awareness and enhancing resource mobilisation through the emotive communication of
knowledge. Art has been found to play an important role in the communication and transfer
of knowledge by creating powerful emotions and providing a voice to the otherwise
voiceless. Visual texts can be used strategically by social movements in the area of C4D to
reinforce/create a collective identity and aid in movement participation by enhancing
solidarity and self-assurance while creating motivation for collective action.

Through the use of content analysis, qualitative interviews and quantitative questionnaire survey, this study look at the role of media reporting on xenophobia among youth in South Africa. The study is based on Alexandra Township , a overcrowded and poor settlement in Johannesburg, South Africa. I choose Alexandra because it was the site of many attacks against African immigrants in April 2008. News content from 36 news media was examined on how their content might have contributed to the xenophobic attitudes.
The media content findings show a very strong stereotyping and bias against African immigrants which is enough to feed to the xenophobia attitude. However, both qualitative and quantitative findings do not confirm a link between this bias and xenophobic attitude in Alexandra. Competition for resources, their experiences with foreigners, myths social prejudice and the bad behavior by some African immigrants were the main sources of influence. This suggests that the society is influencing the media content and not the other way round as is commonly the case. This phenomenon challenges the assumed power of the media. The study also reveals that while the media in South Africa has little effect on xenophobia attitudes there is a chance that if the media change the way they report on African foreigners, some respondents indicated that it may change their view on African foreigners.
Over and above this requires the media to adopt social change models to influence social cohesions while encouraging the government to address incumbent social problems facing both the people of Alexandra and the immigrants as findings suggest a possibility of another xenophobia outbreak if the government does not address social problems in places such as Alexandra.

With the rise of new information and communication technologies, advocacy campaigns in development have experienced a resurgence of video as an instrument to enrich outreach efforts and build bridges, to empower marginalised groups and rescue the culture and heritage of indigenous people, and to reach decision-makers – and ultimately change policies and laws. The use of “humanising” elements through film, such as the oral testimonies of individuals, allows practitioners to transport the realities and conditions of specific localities to audiences otherwise unable to experience them directly.
The present study examines the mechanisms through which video advocacy reaches audiences, looking specifically at trade-offs and knock-on effects among key stakeholders, based upon the case study of the Our Voices Matter advocacy film. The video features oral testimonies of local women survivors of rape from the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is employed to campaign for justice for women victims of sexual violence and to mobilise social change to alter the role of women in the region. In light of the multifaceted nature of video advocacy use in development, the study utilises a composite of three analysis techniques, employing the collection and critical examination of information both qualitative and quantitative in nature: A content analysis of the case study, examining the narrative and semiotic elements used by the film’s producers, was designed to complement interviews with stakeholders of the campaign. An international survey of women was conducted to shine light on how vulnerable groups across the world relate to the video in question and evaluate the effectiveness of video advocacy. The composite discussion reveals insights into video advocacy conception, strategy, and implementation, with particular emphasis on stakeholder mapping, while underscoring the potential for trade-offs and knock-on effects among stakeholder groups. The case study also provides a theoretical and practical basis for similar communication for development campaigns.

In many cases, the need to survive has been the reason for many individuals to leave their country and to start anew in a foreign land. Indeed, migration has played its role as one of the solutions to struggle against poverty among many migrants. Nevertheless, migration can also be an excellent way to improve or develop one’s linguistic, professional and cultural competencies. And one way of doing this is to be part of the au pair cultural exchange program. The interest to be an au pair as well as the interest to have an au pair has been the subject of colorful debates in Denmark, and pushing politicians to make an action due to reports of abuse by many host families. Where the au pair program will end up is still a question hanging up in the air. This study is about the journey of many young and educated Filipino migrants who have decided to embark on the au pair expedition. The theme is anchored on deprofessionalization and deskilling. Transnationalism, civic culture and cultural citizenship, and media are the central theories of the study.
Feedback from the participants indicates that there is a need to shift the discussion and focus. It is also important that the au pairs’ knowledge and skills are recognized.
The study recommends further research on how participatory communication can be utilized or applied to engage all the stakeholders: au pairs, host family, social organizations, sending and receiving countries, and mass media, in finding long term solutions. The ‘cultural exchange or cheap labor’ argument must not be ignored; however, debates should not be limited to this alone. Most of the au pairs are educated. Recognition of such qualifications must be done to create a new arena for discussions. Oftentimes, many au pairs themselves do not see this side of their background as something valuable. From a communication for development perspective, behaviour change- the au pairs should not see themselves as domestic workers, but as educated migrants, and this must be promoted and advocated, so that au pairs and members of the host society can acknowledge this unknown aspect of these unsung migrants. They are education migrants; it is only right and logical that the au pairs are supported to enhance their qualifications. Deprofessionalization and deskilling must be avoided.

This paper explores the existence of a shared community involving the members, users and organisers of three collaborative work spaces located in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Situated as part of an emergent global phenomenon, these spaces, despite having notable differences, share many important features and are, I argue, part of a knowledge exchanging cluster of grassroots entrepreneurialism and innovation-oriented organisations, groups and events in the Phnom Penh area. I explore this cluster as a community in two ways: firstly through the mapping of a knowledge architecture locating the spaces and their actors as nodes within a flow of relationships and activities, secondly, via a networked ethnographic inquiry tracing these flows to actors within the network through qualitative research methods. In doing so I reveal the degree to which there exists a shared community perceived by the users and organisers of these spaces as well highlighting potential opportunities for greater sharing of knowledge, ideas and experience. The paper finds that though a nascent community does exist, there is still significant variance in the levels of cognisance of this community by the different actors as well as in the approach to its engagement. Despite this, there remains, in large part, a shared set of goals and values paving the way for future community collaboration.

This degree project examines the question of how Colombian NGOs communicate sexual and reproductive rights issues to the public opinion, and how this has changed over time. The research is carried out through a case study of two Colombian organizations that work with sexual and reproductive rights, particularly the implementation of legal abortion.
The analysis parts from a gender perspective, understanding gender as a constitutive element of social relationships as well as a primary way of signifying relationships of power.
One of the main findings in the study is that the historical point of departure for this research, the LAICIA campaign that accompanied the strategic litigation that led to the partial legalization of abortion in Colombia in 2006, represents a paradigm shift in how communications were managed by civil society organizations in Colombia. Today, communications is seen as a strategic tool to help obtain a certain objective, and mobilize public opinion support, rather than as a way of convincing opponents to change their positions. LAICIA also changed the terms of the debate, introducing new parameters lifting out the issue from the traditional private sphere – delimited to a moral and religious issue, and into the public sphere, as an issue of general concern for society – not just for individual women.
Today, however, much of the communication efforts are directed at impeding backlashes rather than advancing positions, and communicating reactively rather than proactively. The two organizations studied have some convergences in their work with communications, in spite of certain ideological differences, and the impact of their communication efforts could be reinforced if these were coordinated to a greater extent between organizations.

ABSTRACT
“There are many ways of conceptualizing development, ways that foreground economics, politics, culture, or a combination, and within each of those realms, ways that emphasize processes or structures or both and their relationships. Further, in some perspectives development is geographically inclusive, whereas in others the focus is the so-called Third World or developing countries and their aid needs”. (Wilkins, 2000, p.7)
Considering the term ‘development’ in above quote, this thesis focuses on poverty and under-development prevailing in Mithilanchal region in India, the caste system which divides the society and its direct and indirect consequences. India, whether called a Third World country or a developing country, the difference between the developed and deprived regions can be well spotted and the aim of this thesis is to track how communication and other media tools have been helpful in development of society so far and then analyse how similar development can lead to more liveable society.
The division of Mithilanchal region between the Elite and Mass led to control of Media by the powerful Elites. The flow of information was more diffusive (one-way / top to bottom) than participatory (both way) and with new media and ICT making its place globally, awareness increased along with the participation of people from different strata of society.
This thesis explores on how instrumental media has been in enlightening the society over the period of time, what impact media and its various forms have had in everyday life of commoners and how people living in deprivation look up to the media for it to be more available and accessible.
With the help of qualitative interviews and questionnaire surveys conducted in the region, the thesis concludes that people have had the benefit of media’s presence since long. Traditional - Communication media did leave impact on people’s lives and even today, those who live in these regions are looking forward to more economic, political and social development with the help of new media and ICT. The various positive transformations in unequal social structure brought out with help of communication is aimed to be discussed by the end of the thesis.

New technologies, such as social media and web services, are becoming increasingly common and important tools for community radio stations. The convergence of community radio, social media and web services opens up new opportunities for participation from the audience and challenges previous conceptions of community, participation, empowerment and the public sphere. This study focuses on how this convergence affects notions of participation, empowerment, community and the public sphere as well as the resulting challenges and opportunities. The study was conducted at three community radio stations in the Western Cape, South Africa and used a mixed-methods approach of qualitative interviews, a survey and netnographic observations of social media and web presence.
The findings show that social media and web services increases and changes participation by extending possibilities to interact independently of spatiotemporal limitations of radio broadcasts. It has direct effects on the content of the radio shows and the audience is empowered as co-producers and contributors of content. Additionally, the interaction itself creates new content in other mediums, such as blogs. The study also shows how the converging public spheres of community radio and social media are contradictory as participation becomes economized and exclusionary and relies heavily on financial means, access and digital literacy of the community. The expanded, global reach of community radio also challenges the notion of community as it includes distant and diasporic communities. However, the presence in the global mediascape harmonizes with community radio values of self-representation and self-expression. The study concludes that community radio stations need to both strategize their social media use while balancing their mandate to be a voice of the voiceless that lack access and/or digital literacy to participate.

Social media - Blogs, social networks (Facebook), micro-blogging (Twitter), You Tube, Flickr, Maps, and Mashups (combinations) - has changed the way we work and communicate. Social media are experiencing explosive growth rates and new prominence, not only in the lives of individuals but as tools in democratic processes and social change (Clark 2009, Gilmor 2004). Social media have been used for democratic campaigns in the US (Obama ), reporting natural disasters (Haiti , Tsunami ), responding to conflict and democratic crises (Kenya , Iran , Burma ) emergency fundraising (Haiti ) and others. Activists, NGOs and those in the development field are also using social media for social change. They offer a multiplicity of channels, easier and cheaper creation of content, and allow local and global linkages for those in this field.
An innovative example of how social media are being used for fundraising is WildlifeDirect, a group of conservation blogs. Started in 2004, it provides an opportunity to secure funds for wildlife conservation through online giving, while at the same time providing a forum for like-minded people to discuss wildlife conservation. Limited funding for conservation contributes, alongside poaching, severe climatic conditions, and reduction of the conservation area, to declines in wildlife and habitats. Kenya has a natural resource-based economy, and its people depend on the environment for basic needs. Conservation of these resources and funding to carry it out is a key concern for Government, NGOs and Communities. WildlifeDirect has collaborated with organizations to help boost conservation funds by providing a platform through which people can support conservation.
My involvement with WildlifeDirect begun about three years ago when I started using this platform to blog and attempt to fundraise for the organization I worked for - the Kenya Forests Working Group (part of the East African Wildlife Society). I am still today part of WildlifeDirect community, currently blogging at savingparadise.wildlifedirect.org for my current employer, although our blog is not used actively for fundraising. Through my involvement I witnessed firsthand how this media was being utilised for publicity and fundraising. I also became aware of the challenges intrinsic in the choice of blogs for fundraising. At the same time through my studies at Malmo on New Media and Development, and particularly our exploration of Social media, I became aware of just how powerful Social media can be for social change.
My study’s principal purpose therefore is to explore the benefits of social media, while looking at its challenges. It places this effort within the context of conservation funding and improvements in the ICTs environment in Kenya. A limited number of research and theories shape this emerging and rapidly shifting media. Because the social/new media field keeps evolving, it is difficult to find a theoretical framework for its analysis. (Hassan and Thomas (eds) 2006:xviii). The study has therefore assumed that the media landscape has changed and attempted not to take an old versus new stance whose discourse found in most literature has been critiqued (by authors such as Holmes 2005).
Instead, the dialectical view advanced by Fuchs is considered. In his seminal work, Internet and Society, Fuchs (2008) notes that the research field of ICT&S (Information and Communication Technologies and Society) deals with two interconnected aspects – society and technology.
Fuchs posits that the relation of the two is inherently dynamic; the two are mutually connected and have constructive effects onto each other. Fuchs avoids the technological determinist view that sees technology as the driving force of society or the social shaping approaches, which consider technology as being invented, designed, changed, and used by humans and influenced by an overall societal context. Fuchs concludes that neither is appropriate because both have deterministic understandings of technology and society. On the one hand, ICTs are embedded into social systems and overall society; social forces and relations shape them. On the other hand, ICTs enable and constrain human social action. This relationship is an endless dynamical evolving loop (2008:345). Within the development field, there has been an equal application of optimism – (ICTs as freeing and democratising) and pessimism (ICTs as isolationist and elitists). A middle ground has however begun to emerge, one that sees the potential of ICTs while acknowledging their shortcomings. Case studies of how ICTs influence societies and how societies are shaping ICTs are also beginning to emerge (e.g Ushahidi and Mpesa in Kenya).
The study is limited to Kenya although WildlifeDirect has blogs from the rest of Africa, Latin America and Asia. The following broad questions were asked:
1. What impact has social media had on fundraising for conservation?
2. Can it be an alternative to traditional sources or help in diversification of sources of funding?
3. Can it address the sustainability question?
4. What attracts donations – species, language, relationships, transparency, location?
5. To what extent are the blogs affecting policies, publics and mainstream media?
6. What offline communication practices are bloggers engaged in, if any?
7. Is social media replacing traditional media? Are they used together?
8. What are the inherent power positions in peer to peer giving? and
9. An exploration of the technology – its freedoms and limitations, the state and media regulations, and who governs new media.
The study found that WildlifeDirect is an innovative platform. It has appropriated a relatively new technology for its use. It has had relative success in fundraising, has provided a voice for conservationists, and has served as alternative media bringing news about species and conservation areas from people working directly in the field. It is used to advocate for important issues affecting wildlife conservation. Success in fundraising has not been across the board, bringing the issue of return on investment of using the technology to the fore. Connectivity is still a challenge in rural areas even with the introduction of the fibre optics cable and so is transacting with Africa. Even then, bloggers acknowledge the role the blogs play for their publicity and raising profiles.
The study is divided into an introduction (conceptual framework); existing research; theories and methodology; analysis of findings; emerging picture (interpretation of data); discussion of results vis a vis theories; and a conclusion based on other new media/ICTS theories, followed by references and appendices.

Several studies explore new technology and social media usage, especially in the global
North. This study set out to investigate what kind of experiences and opinions youth in La Paz and El Alto, Bolivia, had of their internet and communication technology usage, through semi-structural interviews, at the same time comparing the possible differences in this
between LGBT and non-LGBT youth. That way I am trying to add a perspective and voice in the new media discourse, as well as adding to the knowledge of my partner organization,
Svalorna Latinamerika.
I decided to focus on three main online activities; security issues, relationship building and
information management, and the nine informants were encouraged to share their thoughts and experiences as well as information about their general ICT usage.
The results showed that the youth’s internet usage was depending more on their interest in the different media and platforms, rather than on their sexual orientation or gender. The LGBT informants however had more experiences of discrimination and threat online. Also, all of the informant’s seemed to create new relations not only to other users online, but also to the
platforms and media itself, this depending on how much they were using the platforms.
Finally I could see that the informants could satisfy many different needs with their ICT and social media use, depending on their interests, resources and time spent online.

The issue of the image of African countries in European media is an age-long one which has resurfaced in recent times. Eyebrows have been raised over the image of African countries in Europe and other Western Media which is always touted to be negative.
The question about how the EU is reported in the African media has however been relegated to the background.
This study therefore used content analysis to unearth how the EU and its member countries are reported in the African Media particularly in the Daily Graphic, a leading Daily Newspaper in Ghana in two separate years of 1998 and 2008 and whether what is reported reflects colonial ties between EU member countries and their former colonies in Africa. The study which used both quantitative and qualitative methods of research also sought to investigate the power relations between African media and their European counterpart, the sources of the stories were examined to find out whether they are stories written by European media or in-depth analysis of issues written by Ghanaian or African reporters. Special emphasis was placed on issues around trade and aid between Africa and the European Union which comes across as the key issues. The years 1998 and 2008 were selected because it has a ten year interval in which one can assess whether coverage of EU related issues in the paper has improved over the last ten years especially as the EU has grown in membership and scope, deepening its process of integration and acquiring new responsibilities in the world.
Findings of the study indicated a strong tie between some EU member countries and their former colonies, (i.e United Kingdom and Ghana).The study also found out that The Daily Graphic simply borrows stories from EU sources and reproduce them with very little or no analysis, comments, or criticisms, of the issues raised that may have implications for the country or Africa’s growth in terms of aid and trade issues. This is a pointer to the fact that European media has been setting the agenda and the Daily Graphic simply follows.
The study further revealed the unequal power relations between the EU and for that matter Africa which also reflects in media relations whereby as a result of poor salaries, logistical support and appropriate technology, newspapers in Africa, such as the Daily Graphic are unable to send reporters to the EU headquarters in Brussels to report issues from the African point of view and as such reproduce what has already been reported in the European media by European reporters and sent down through wire services.
Again from the study, it is evident that the Daily Graphic does not report regularly on issues on EU- Africa trade and aid. In 1998, aid related issues involving the EU and Africa were only six percent while that of 2008 was 11 percent. Trade related issues involving the EU and Africa recorded nine percent in both years.
Also reporters lack of interest in analysis of the issues in feature articles was reflected in 97 percent of news stories in 1998 as against three percent of feature articles in the same year while 2008 recorded a woefully two percent of feature articles as against a whopping 98 percent of news stories.
One of the issues that emerged as a surprise was the fact that contrary to expectations, EU related stories not connected to Africa received more coverage than what connects Africa to Europe. This may be an indication that African media gate-keepers are not selecting stories based on the interest of the country or continent but rather still serving their colonial masters under a new colonial empire facilitated by the EU. Theories underpinning colonialism such as Edward Said’s Orientalism, modernization, media and society theories have helped to discuss some of the issues under focus.

With Chinas recent and quick uprising coming as a surprise for many of 'us' in the so-called western world, the changes and effects of the recent developments must have also been a big surprise for many of those most effected by the change – the Chinese people. Then, at the turn of the century, China's bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing has brought further changes; the winning has finally propelled Beijing's speed of change to previously unknown proportions. Today, the government pushes to finish many projects in time for 2008 and institutionalises the Olympic Games as an excuse for the need to further changes. The structure of the whole city ap- pears to being changed in only a few years. Beijing, originally a city with countless one storey buildings and only a few high-rise buildings is being changed into a city with skyscrapers. Changes that are enforced at this speed, I thought, must have a strong effect on the people's mind.
Such fast changes have surely effected me, in a sense that I was simultaneously shocked and as- tounded whenever I came back to Beijing. For this project however, I was interested to find out what the locals think and how they describe these changes. I was interested to learn about the effects of such fast changes on Beijing‘s society and decided to focus on the social effects caused by Beijing‘s change of style in today‘s city planning and how people refer to them. My key- and research-question of this project work, was thus to investigate the following:
How are the people affected by the city's development and how do they refer to the fast changes? Can the locals still identify with their own city and do they still feel at home?In writing (this thesis) and in a documentary film ( http://www.cycleofchange.tv )

Financial dependency and a trend in donor-driven gender equality and women’s empowerment projects in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) have undoubtedly had an effect on the way in which NGOs are working and evolving: often projects are designed to fulfill donor requirements – and thereby policies - instead of creating an agenda which is politically and socially “home grown”. This paper analyses the USAID gender policy paper (as an example of foreign donor policy) and interviews conducted with legal, programme and gender experts in the oPt, exploring the challenges and gaps between policy and practice. The research uses qualitative research methods to analyze USAID discourse - exploring concepts such as representation, ideology and power - and general assumptions and perspectives towards women’s equality and empowerment in the Opt versus how this translates into practice.

Coffee is an important commodity being traded daily on major commodity trade exchanges in London and New York. Meanwhile, in emerging markets like Brazil, Vietnam, and Colombia, coffee is a major source of revenue, with exports of coffee accounting for, in some cases, over 80% of foreign exchange earnings . As the fourth largest exporter of coffee beans in the world, Indonesia holds a strong opportunity to be a prominent coffee player in the world, not only by exporting raw material to developed countries but also by performing solemn roles in coffee global marketing strategies. Sadly, from preliminary research that I conducted before, I found out that the knowledge level of most Indonesian coffee farmers, particularly in coffee processing techniques, is relatively beyond par. How can Indonesia become a respected global player in coffee industry if the farmers do not simply know how to roast and grind their coffee?
Coffee does not only affect world economy. In fact, it touches social cultural aspect in globalization, diffusion of innovations and technology, agricultural sustainability, and human empowerment among coffee farmers. Based on those above notions, I decided to commence on a particular study of a Motramed (Mediated Partnership Model) program, designed and implemented by ICCRI (Indonesian Coffee and Cacao Research Institute), to specialty coffee farmers in Bondowoso, East Java, Indonesia. Over several weeks that I spent in Jember, in ICCRI headquarter, I met directly with ICCRI researchers who are in charge for Motramed development program under Dr. Surip Mawardi’s supervision, respective Motramed farmers in Bondowoso, East Java and Motramed’s social actors. We engaged in an intense dialogue and qualitative interviews regarding Motramed program and its implications towards social, economy, and behavioral change. The study result was tremendously proliferated by myself observation of exploratory study which through that process, I found significant relations between ground theories of development and their field practice.

Development discourse emerged from the implicit assumption that the technological achievements and societal organizations of western civilization represent successes of humankind in inhabiting the planet, and should therefore be promoted among other cultures. The ecological threats of this time suggest the contrary, forcing us to reconsider the positiveness of over exploitations of natural resources and to recognize the paradox of the economical growth model. A new urgent meaning for development is that of rediscussing what characterizes an ideal society and enabling the transformation toward sustainability and justice.
Among the many challenges that the planet is facing deforestation well represents the reach of the problems since it affects humans at several levels: from the smallest scale of family economy with the products they can directly offer; to the national size through the effect they have on the environmental conditions of countries; and to the global level for the influence over the planet’s climate.
In this era of tremendous transformations, demanding the reduction of consumptions for developed countries and appropriate planning of future consumption for developing ones, communication plays a central role. Exchange of information without preferential directions and between different levels (global-local, local-local) is at the base of this process.
This study analyses the communication dynamics of a reforestation campaign in Haiti operated by the NGO AMURT.
Assuming that the idea of planting trees rather then cutting them can be seen as an innovation, I adopted as a theoretical framework the findings of “Diffusion of Innovation” research. In particular I used the field work to critically assess some of the diffusion model’s findings, especially concerning the characterization of early adopters which I perceived as pro-innovation biased.
An analysis of the NGO communication strategy according to diffusion of innovation parameters revealed several positive points, such as the use of homophile change agents, the adaptation of messages to the audience and the characterization of the meaning of the innovation from a receiver’s perspective. Nevertheless, the most important reasons for the success of the program rather seemed to sit in the NGO approach: the relationship of trust, the stability of its presence in the area and the intimate contact and cooperation with the local social structures.